: Good day for sunshine. Tourists even had to bring out umbrellas at Tiananmen Square after a storm blew out a lot of the smog.

July 29, 2008

: Good day for sunshine. Tourists even had to bring out umbrellas at Tiananmen Square after a storm blew out a lot of the smog.

Photo: Robert F. Bukaty, AP

July 29, 2008 : Good day for sunshine. Tourists even had to bring... Photo-1438785.24753 - Houston Chronicle

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July 28, 2008:

Volunteers walk through the smog on the Olympic Green. With just 11 days to go before the start of the world's biggest multi-sports event, Beijing was blanketed in a dense white haze that cut visibility in the city of 17 million down to just a few hundred metres.

July 28, 2008: Volunteers walk through the smog on the Olympic... Photo-1438786.24753 - Houston Chronicle

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July 28, 2008:

A general view of the Central Business District which is shrouded with heavy smog. Pollution levels remained high just 11 days before the Olympics. The Chinese capital could ban 90 percent of private cars from its roads and closing more factories in a last-ditch bid to clear smoggy skies for the Olympics.

Ducks in Beijing waddle along the banks of the Olympic lake north of the National Stadium on on the Olympic Green.

July 26, 2008:

Ducks in Beijing waddle along the banks of the Olympic lake north of the National Stadium on on the Olympic Green.

Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN, AFP/Getty Images

July 26, 2008: Ducks in Beijing waddle along the banks of the... Photo-1438789.24753 - Houston Chronicle

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July 26, 2008:

Chinese paramilitary police man their post in a restricted area near the main Olympics stadium, beneath umbrellas sponsored by fastfood giant McDonald's. With less than two weeks to the start of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on August 8, the city remains swathed in smog as its notorious pollution defies aggressive steps aimed at clearing the air. However, Chinese officials who routinely refer to the city's smog as "fog", have brushed off concerns over the city's heavy pollution, which has triggered a warning by IOC chief Jacques Rogge that some events could be postponed if air quality is poor.

Commuters crowd a train at a subway station in Beijing. Many commuters switched to the subway after restrictions on car use went into effect.

July 21, 2008:

Commuters crowd a train at a subway station in Beijing. Many commuters switched to the subway after restrictions on car use went into effect.

Photo: Andy Wong, AP

July 21, 2008: Commuters crowd a train at a subway station in... Photo-1438792.24753 - Houston Chronicle

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July 21, 2008:

Cars drive on Beijing's Second Ring Road under hazy skies. Morning haze hung over Beijing on Monday, the first workday for restrictions on car use under a bold plan to clear the Olympic city of its notorious smog-choked skies.

Afternoon traffic comes to a standstill on a smog-filled day. Beijing companies have been ordered to reduce working hours from 9:00am to 5:00pm, starting an hour later and finishing an hour earlier than normal, and employers are also encouraged to allow staff to take annual leave during the Games. The start of car ban began on Sunday, July 20. The ban will keep more than one million vehicles off Beijing's roads before and during the Games.

July 14, 2008:Decorative banners for the Olympics brighten up an otherwise smog-filled day in Beijing as pedestrians cross a footbridge, 25 days before the start of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Beijing companies have been told to stagger or shorten working hours beginning next week as the drive to cut pollution and traffic gridlock for the Olympics goes into a high gear. less

July 14, 2008:Decorative banners for the Olympics brighten up an otherwise smog-filled day in Beijing as pedestrians cross a footbridge, 25 days before the start of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Beijing ... more

A Chinese tourist views the smog-shrouded Olympic Stadium, known locally as the "Bird's Nest", from a distance in Beijing. China voiced confidence that the Olympics would be a success, although it warned that hostile forces were still intent on derailing the historic event. Chinese officials also dismissed pollution concerns that were highlighted by recent smoggy days in Beijing, and rejected accusations that the government had not honoured its commitments to improve human rights and press freedoms.

Tourists share a laugh with Tiananmen Square shrouded in smog in Beijing. Beijing's environment bureau insisted on July 8 that pollution would not be a problem for the Olympics despite heavy smog enveloping the city exactly one month before the Games start.